Water closet ventilator



Aug. 23,

1960 J. w. FARRELL WATER CLOSET VENTILATOR Filed Jan. 2, 195a INVENTOR. JOHN W FARRELL ATTORNEY Unite tates Patent WATER CLOSET VENTILATOR John William Farrell, 10320 14th St., Denver, 0010. Filed Jan. 2, 1958, S61. N0. 706,672

Claims. (Cl. i-216) This invention relates to a water closet ventilator and more particularly to an improved water closet apparatus I which provides ventilating action for removal of the gases in the bowl when the liquid contents of the bowl are flushed. The invention will hereinafter be described in connection with a newly constructed water closet apparatus, but the principles thereof are readily applicable in the form of ventilator attachments to a standard toilet structure.

Attempts have been made in the past to accomplish this desirable end, but to the best of my knowledge complicated arrangements were required, such as blowers, chemical deodorizers, etc., so as to make these arrangements impractical, complicated and expensive to manufacture.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved water closet ventilator which avoids one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art arrangements and one in which the operation is greatly simplified.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved ventilator for a water closet which will withdraw the gases from the water closet bowl by suction and discharge the gases into the usual vent pipe employed for conveying the gases outwardly from a house.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved water closet ventilator which is simple in construction, inexpensive, strong and durable and pleasing to the eye and further which requires little maintenance.

In accordance with the invention the improved water closet ventilator comprises a bowl and associated flush tank having a removable cover therefor, the cover being provided with passageways therein communicating the interior and exterior of the flush tan-k, each having valve means therein permitting selective entry of a gas through a first passage and selective exit of air through a second passage, conduit means connecting the first passage with the bowl to communicate with the interior thereof above the normal water level and means for connecting the second passage to a sewer vent pipe.

For a better understanding of the present invention together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a water closet embodying the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view of part of the structure illustrated in Figure l.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a water closet or toilet bowl generally identified by the numeral and associated flush tank 12. Flush tank 12 is pro vided with a removable cover 14 having suitable seal means 16 in contact with the top edges of tank 12 forming an air tight seal therewith. Cover 14 is further provided with a pair of passageways 18 and 20 as shown in Figure 2, each having one end in communication with Patented Aug. 23, 1960 the interior of flush tank 12. A one-way valve 22 is positioned in passage 18, intermediate the ends thereof, and conveniently in an enlarged portion thereof. Valve 22 is located at the inlet side of passage 18 adjacent the interior of flush tank 12. Although valve 22 may assume various forms, it may conveniently comprise a valve seat 24 and a closure 26 which is preferably of low density material such as to be unseated by a gentle flow of air through passage 18 from the interior of flush tank 12. Another similar one-way valve 28 is located in passage 20, intermediate the ends thereof, and conveniently in an enlarged portion thereof. Valve 28 is located at the inlet side of passage 20 remote from the interior of flush tank 12 and comprises a valve seat 30 and a closure 32 comparable to closure 26 of valve 22. Valve 28 further includes a reduced portion 34 which extends beyond top 14 for external connection with one end of conduit 36. The other end of conduit 36 is connected to bowl 10 to communicate with the interior thereof above the normal water level by means of passage 38, shown by dotted lines in Figure 1. An extension 40 which may conveniently be formed integral with top 14 forms an extension of passage 18. One end of conduit 42 is connected to extension 40 communicating with passage 18 and the other end of conduit 42 is connected to a sewer vent pipe 44, which may conveniently be located behind wall 46 of a bathroom or the like.

The normal water level in the flush tan-k is indicated by line 48. When flushed in the usual manner the water is discharged into the interior of bowl 10 and the water level in flush tank 12 drops below line 48. A suction is created in the space 50 in flush tank 12 above the normal water level, seating closure 26 of valve 22, unseating closure 32 of valve 28 and gases are drawn from the interior of bowl 10 above the water level, through passage 38, conduit 36, valve 28 and passage 20 into space 50 of flush tank 12 in the direction of arrow 52. After the water has been discharged from flush tank 12, the usual flush valve closes and water is introduced into the flush tank from a source of supply through a float valve. As the water enters and thewater level rises in tank 12, the pressure in space 50 will increase, thus seating closure 32 of valve 28, unseating closure 26 of valve 28, and the gases from space 50 will be discharged through valve 22, passage 18 and conduit 42 into vent pipe 44, in the direction of arrow 54. Thus with applicants improved ventilator construction the simple, ever present pumping action of water rising and falling in the flush tank provides a simple and efficient means of withdrawing gases from the bowl and area immediately surrounding and dispelling them into a sewer vent pipe.

While in the specific embodiment shown bowl 10 is disclosed to have a passage communicating with the intcrior thereof, it will be readily appreciated that conduit 36 may be lengthened and positioned to terminate in the interior of bowl 10, such that applicants improved ventilator may be easily added to an existing and conventional tank-type water closet. Assuming this were done, it would only be necessary to substitute cover 14 and asso ciated conduits and parts for the usual tank cover whereby the principles of this invention could be installed and applied in the form of an attachment.

While there have been described what at present are considered to be the preferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention. It is aimed, therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. For example, while the invention has been described in connection with a cover or lid 14, the tank 12 could merely be closed at its top and passageways correspomfing to 18 and 20 and valves corresponding to 26 and 32 provided otherwise so that the principles of the invention would still apply.

What is claimed is:

1. A water closet ventilator comprising a bowl and associated flush tank, a cover on the flush tank provided with passageways therein communicating the interior and exterior of the flush tank and valve means in each of said passageways adapted to permit selective entry of a gas through a first passage into the interior of the flush tank and selective exit of a gas through a second passage from the flush tank.

2 The combination as set forth in claim 1 including conduit means connecting said first passage with the bowl to communicate with the interior thereof above the normal Water level and conduit means connecting said second passage with a sewer vent pipe.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the valve means are one-way valves and sealing means is provided between the cover and the flush tank.

4. In a water closet ventilator, a flush tank having a top and provided with spaced passageways therein adapted to communicate the interior, above the normal liquid level and exterior of the flush tank, said passageways each having valve means therein adapted to permit selective entry of a gas through a first passage into the interior of a flush tank and selective exit of a gas through a second passage from a flush tank.

5. In a Water closet ventilator, a flush tank cover having a pair of spaced passageways therethrough, one-way valve means positioned within each of said passages adapted to permit flow in opposed directions through said passages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,620,486 Addlesburger Dec. 9, 1952 

